In 2005 he released his first official mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania, and later in 2006 he released his first full length street album entitled Show and Prove. Since then he has released a further six mixtapes and a collaboration mixtape titled How Fly with friend Curren$y. He released his debut album, Deal or No Deal, in November of 2009, it reached #1 on the iTunes hip hop chart, and then reached the top ten on iTunes' overall album chart the week it was released. Previously signed to Warner Bros. Records, he left the label in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, First Flight. Khalifa stated to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves".He is also the founder of the rap crew Taylor Gang, which includes friends Kev Tha Hustler, Ekko, Smallz Money and Gene Stovall. They derived the name from the fact they always used to wear Chuck Taylor shoes.
Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota to a mother and a father serving in the military. The family moved to Pittsburgh when Khalifa was the age of two. His parents' military service caused the family to move on a regular basis.
Over the next thirteen years, he would move between Pittsburgh and South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, Germany, Japan, and England as his parents were reassigned to different posts. In October of 1990 Wiz was separated from his mother,who left him in the hands of her sister while she served in Operation Desert Storm.
During his travels, Wiz was forced to mature quicker than his peers. He was constantly faced with new surroundings, new schools, and new sets of friends, and he found it difficult to become attached to anyone outside his family roots. This nomadic life gave Wiz an opportunity, though, to broaden his mind and offered him many experiences from which to draw inspiration. He began to perceive the world differently than most kids, and he would write his thoughts down every day.These thoughts would become the foundation for his future recordings.
By the age of 14, with a few songs under his belt, Wiz was already drawing comparisons with his commanding voice and witty wordplay. While he has been influenced by artists such as Jay-Z, Camron, and the Notorious B.I.G., Wiz was determined to create his own identity that would, one day, be loved and revered by fans.
Ready to take the next step, Wiz began his search for a recording studio to record new songs. He found one, ID LABS, where owner Eric Dan immediately recognized Wiz's talents. Along with Chad Glick of ID Management, they began to network Wiz to another Pittsburgh native, Benjy Grinberg of Rostrum Records. Benjy realized the raw talent that Wiz possessed, and immediately brought him into the Rostrum family in 2002.
Soon after, Wiz Khalifa began his ascent into the music scene in the Pittsburgh area. He has been hailed by the award winning Pittsburgh Post-Gazette pop music critic, Ed Masley, as having “the skills, the looks, the confidence, the drive, and the charisma for the job.” The New Pittsburgh Courier says, “The combination of a young, charismatic M.C. with a slew of stop-and-rewind rhymes together with a local independent label with major industry connections has set the stage for a hip-hop artist representing Pittsburgh to reach superstar status for the first time ever.
In 2010, with the success of Kush and Orange Juice still present, Wiz Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records. Wiz's style along with his production team, Johnny Juliano, Sledgren, and E. Dan make this a winning combination for success.
He is also well known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, Rolling Papers, was released on March 29, 2011. He followed that album with O.N.I.F.C. (abbreviated for mainstream markets from "Only Nigga In First Class") on December 4, 2012 which was backed by the singles "Work Hard, Play Hard" and "Remember You". O.N.I.F.C. debuted at number two with 131,000 in first week sales.
Pittsburgh City Council declared 12-12-12 (December 12, 2012) to be Wiz Khalifa Day in the city. Khalifa graduated from Pittsburgh's Taylor Allderdice High School and in January 2012, purchased a home in nearby Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
In April 2013, Khalifa revealed that after having his son he decided to work on a new album that he was planning to release in 2013. On April 17, 2013, Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y announced that they will drop their collaboration EP Live in Concert on April 20, 2013. The EP featured seven new songs. On June 24, 2013, he announced that his fifth studio album would be titled Blacc Hollywood and would be released in 2013. On September 3, 2013, Khalifa revealed he had recorded songs with Miley Cyrus, Adele and Juicy J for Blacc Hollywood. In October 2013, Mannie Fresh confirmed that he provided production for the album. On February 11, 2014, Khalifa released Blacc Hollywood's first single titled "We Dem Boyz". The album was then supported by the singles "KK", "You and Your Friends", "Stayin Out All Night", "Promises" and "So High".
Khalifa released an EP with TY Dolla $ign on March 31, 2015, entitled "Talk About It In the Morning". That same month, Wiz released the lead single for the film "Furious 7" called "See You Again" as a tribute to Paul Walker. The single has since gone on to global success. "See You Again" spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, tying for the longest-running rap number-one hit in the US.
On January 23, 2015, Khalifa was featured on a remix release of the Fall Out Boy song "Uma Thurman". On May 18, they performed the song together on the 2015 Billboard Music Awards show. In the summer of 2015, he began touring the United States with Fall Out Boy and Hoodie Allen in a tour titled "The Boys of Zummer Tour". The tour featured performances of "Uma Thurman" by Fall Out Boy and Khalifa. Later that year, on December 15, 2015, Wiz released the mixtape "Cabin Fever 3". During the Golden Globes on January 10, 2016, Wiz announced that his next album, titled Khalifa, would be released on the 22nd of that month. However, the album was released on February 5, 2016. On May 24, 2016, he released "Pull Up", a standalone single in promotion of his sixth album, Rolling Papers 2, which was released on July 13, 2018.
On April 20, 2020, Khalifa released, The Saga of Wiz Khalifa. The album included collaborations with Tyga, Logic, Mustard and Ty Dolla $ign. In May 2020, Khalifa featured on the song "Drums Drums Drums" with Travis Barker.
In 2021, Khalifa competed in season five of The Masked Singer as "Chameleon". He finished in third place.
Knock U Down
Wiz Khalifa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We in a slow game, I brung the speed up
High octane, hella inked up
Bird or plane, u prolly seen us
Made a lil change, but its all good
Neva throw it in your face im from a small Hooood
Best dressed lyk a star should, beat on so i could hardly see ya'll
We Are, Some Taylor Gang fukkin bosses
Pop more bands, Cop more cloths,
Drive fast cars, Fuck bad hoes
I fly in circles u non workers in dirt last
Readin tweets & fallin asleep in first class
Might of heard my song but alot of ya'll aint kno the kid
So I took over the net lyk Hova did
And set my goals where the solar is
Now my swag on polar bear
And you here so pretend ya man dont even exist
And get your lips wet lyk a lisp
Im just lyk a pimp, some dislike from them
But im a big fish, u just Tiger Shrimp
Flirted wit fame but at night i dream of success
If u sleepin on me then u gettin good rest
Yes
Cause wen niggas ask who hot if it aint Drizzy then they talkin bout me
Okaaaay
Hahaa
In this verse of Wiz Khalifa's song, "Knock U Down," the artist is talking about his lavish lifestyle and his success. He starts off by mentioning popping champagne and rolling up some weed, indicating that he's living the high life and enjoying the finer things in life. He states that he's in a slow game, but he's brought the speed up, which may indicate that although he's got some success, he's still continuing to hustle and work hard to achieve greatness.
He talks about how he's made a little change, but it's all good, saying he's from a small hood and doesn't need to flaunt his wealth. Wiz Khalifa also refers to himself and his crew as Taylor Gang bosses, boasting about their success and how he doesn't care about the cost of living his lavish lifestyle. He talks about popping more bands and buying more clothes, driving fast cars, and having sex with beautiful women. He mentions flying in circles, which could indicate that he's traveling the world and living a lifestyle that others dream of.
Moreover, the artist talks about being a big fish, while others are only tiger shrimps. This may be an indication that he's confident about his success and ability to achieve greatness. He also mentions dreaming of success at night, indicating that he's not satisfied with where he's at and still wants to achieve more. He finishes off by saying that he's up there with Drake, indicating that he's one of the hottest artists in the industry.
Line by Line Meaning
Pop champagne, roll some weed up
Let's celebrate by drinking champagne and smoking weed.
We in a slow game, I brung the speed up
We are going at a leisurely pace, but I am making moves to speed things up.
High octane, hella inked up
We are energetic and full of tattoos.
Bird or plane, u prolly seen us
We are noticeable and have probably caught your attention before.
Made a lil change, but its all good
We have made some money, but we are not showing off.
Neva throw it in your face im from a small Hooood
We are from a humble background and do not flaunt our success.
Best dressed lyk a star should, beat on so i could hardly see ya'll
We are dressed like celebrities and the music is so loud we can barely see anyone else.
We Are, Some Taylor Gang fukkin bosses
We are part of Taylor Gang, and we are bosses.
And i live everyday not caring wat it costest
I am living without worrying about the price of things.
Pop more bands, Cop more cloths,
We make more money and buy more clothes.
Drive fast cars, Fuck bad hoes
We drive expensive cars and have sex with attractive women.
I fly in circles u non workers in dirt last
I travel extensively while others are stuck in their daily routines.
Readin tweets & fallin asleep in first class
I am on social media and am able to rest easily while flying first class.
Might of heard my song but alot of ya'll aint kno the kid
You may have heard my music, but you do not really know who I am.
So I took over the net lyk Hova did
I took over the internet like Jay-Z did.
And set my goals where the solar is
I set high goals for myself.
Now my swag on polar bear
I have a lot of confidence.
And you here so pretend ya man dont even exist
If you are here with me, ignore your significant other.
And get your lips wet lyk a lisp
Kiss me passionately.
Im just lyk a pimp, some dislike from them
People may not like me, but I act like a pimp.
But im a big fish, u just Tiger Shrimp
I am more important than you.
Flirted wit fame but at night i dream of success
I have tasted fame, but I still dream of achieving more success.
If u sleepin on me then u gettin good rest
If you are ignoring me, you are doing yourself a favor by getting some rest.
Cause wen niggas ask who hot if it aint Drizzy then they talkin bout me
When people ask who is popular in the music industry, if it is not Drake, they are talking about me.
Okaaaay
Okay.
Hahaa
Laughing.
Contributed by Hudson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@whodatxo
he was only 20 lol crazy man old wiz makes me miss high school i was 16 when this came out now im 21 crazy how time flies
@sasquatch446
Same boat as you man, first time i ever heard wiz.
@drizzydre3091
Makes 3 of us lol
@xMrDanky
That makes 4. I used to bump old wiz in my 88 Honda Accord back when I was 16. Now I'm 21, haha those were the times.
@xMrDanky
ayee same man. I was about 17 and just started to smoke. lol Wiz and others got me through high school. Too me, Wiz is one of the greats. Sure he has sold out here and there but you gotta get that money, and follow whats popular.
@Yaffy28
Kells Runz he was 18
@MrDesean516
This freestyle is the reason I listen to him today
@xMrDanky
Same. Also with the ATL freestyle
@X9Cruzito4X
Wiz Still Hasn't change...He Still Rollin it Up.
@RudyTheDj
Dam I miss the old Wiz.
"Okaayyy - Wiz "